Cat CSI
by sarahhaley
Summary: Abu Dhabi. In which Martin doesn't divert, the cat in the hold does freeze to death, and an investigation almost springs up. Fortunately for the crew of MJN Air, Cat CSI is just so busy these days.


A/N: I wrote this very late at night in less than a half-an-hour. And I have absolutely no regrets. Enjoy!

**~oOo~oOo~**

"… found on the far side of Glasgow. Looks like a hit and run. Shame. There's not much we can do about those."

"Still, I want you to look up those tire marks, see if you can find a match." The Detective Inspector, having seen all he needed, closed the police report and handed it back to the sergeant. "Who knows? You might find something."

"Right, sir!"

The sergeant began making her way to forensics to carry out her orders, but the DI turned to her.

"Before you go," he started, "what ever happened to that odd case you were working on? You know, the one with that Egyptian fellow. I take it we've finished?"

"Yeah, mostly cleared up now. It was the neighbor, just as you had thought. Although I must ask, how did you know it was him so early on in the investigation?"

"Who else could it have been?" The detective shrugged, a smirk playing on his lips. "He seemed a bit too tight-strung to be completely innocent. What are the details?"

"Well, he said that he got frustrated at the constant noise and eventually pulled a gun on the unsuspecting victim. The court issued a lofty fine for abuse, somewhere around 7,000 pounds, I believe. Twelve months custody, disallowance of future animal care, and lovely smudge on his record. Oh, and I think the owner is threatening to sue."

"Good for him. Although I do hope the suing bit doesn't fall through –- it's about time that case was closed forever. We have enough going on as it is."

"Of course, sir."

**~oOo~oOo~**

There was a knock on his office door. The DI paused his writing and glanced from his police report to eye his visitor.

It was that young, enthusiastic intern from forensics… who had apparently gotten his hands on a report. The lad waved and pointed excitedly at the packet of papers he was holding.

_Great._ It took quite a lot of self control for the DI to stop his eyes from rolling.

He considered waving the youngster off, asking him to 'please come back later, I'm rather busy at the moment', but the boy just looked so proud of himself for whatever he had discovered. Yes, he was on a lot cases at the time, and sure, adding another one to the pile would be a bit irresponsible.

But, the detective remembered, that particular intern was a bit excitable –- the smallest things could grab his suspicion. And, with any luck, the case would be nothing more than natural causes with no investigation necessary. He would have a talk with his team about who they handed their reports to so they could avoid this sort of thing in the future, and it would be a learning experience for the young pathologist. No harm to be had.

He waved his hand, motioning for the intern to enter. The door clicked open, and the young lad hesitantly shuffled in.

"Um… sir? Detective Inspector, sir?"

"Yes? What is it?"

With the gleaming in his eyes and a nervous yet eager bounce in his step, it was clear that the intern was barely managing to contain his exhilaration. "An interesting case has popped up!"

For the DI, however, things couldn't possibly be any less exciting. "Okay, let's see what you've got." He leaned back in his chair and readied himself for a long-winded conversation.

"The victim was on a plane travelling from England to India, where, upon his arrival in Abu Dhabi, he was found dead. Preliminary investigation didn't show much, but you see, I've done some investigating myself, and I found that-"

"Woah, woah, sonny," he cut in. "Aren't you a bit… new to be doing any investigating?"

"Well… yeah. I suppose. But I figured, because it's not technically illegal in our branch, what harm could it do? Besides, you just seemed awfully busy. I thought I could help out a bit, maybe get the ball rolling on this one so you would have less to do yourself."

"Yes, yes, very good, fine." He let out an exasperated sigh. "Now, what exactly did you investigate?"

"Well," the intern cleared his throat, "I took a blood sample and ran a few simple tests. He wasn't drugged and didn't have anything wrong with his kidneys or heart or anything. At first glance, it seemed like he just… dropped for no reason."

"But I take it that he didn't die from a natural cause, like old age, otherwise, you wouldn't be standing in my office trying to prove how interesting this case is… right?"

"Exactly!" The boy's grin widened. "You see, I ran a few other tests with the blood sample, and there seems to be some… interesting results." He paused. Probably building up for dramatic effect. Interns often did such a thing, being under the impression that stalling would glorify the suspense, making them look as impressive as possible.

But the DI didn't have that sort of time, and he was growing a tad impatient. "Well, go on! Out with it!"

He was then handed the police report with some lab results. The DI turned immediately to the pathologist's findings, but couldn't make sense of anything.

The intern bit his bottom lip, his bright eyes revealing his otherwise concealed excitement. "So… what do you think?"

"Okay. Tell me what I'm supposed to be looking at."

"Well… he appears to have been frozen to death."

Every feeling of annoyance fled. The Detective Inspector looked up curiously at the intern. He spoke slowly, as if dazed. "Are you sure? You didn't… run a test wrong or anything, did you?"

"No, sir. His blood has been crystallized recently. Being frozen is the only possibility. And if your body temperature is below freezing, you've been dead for a while."

"But who would want to freeze a cat? On an _aeroplane_?"

"I don't know, sir. Someone did, though."

"Right." Still slightly stunned, the DI cleared his throat. "Well, then. That's… definitely interesting. I suppose I should get my team to look into it," he looked up at the intern and smiled, giving his nod of approval. "Good job… what was your name, son?"

"Smithson, sir. Brian Smithson."

"I'll be sure to remember that name! Well done, Smithson!"

"Thank you, sir!" The boy beamed. And with that, he dashed out of the room.

The DI watched him go until he was around the corner. Then his attention turned warily to his newest case. He let out a slow exhale.

_Great. Another one to add to the pile._

He flung it over to his stack of not-quite-cold-yet cases that resided behind his desk. He then continued looking at the report he had been working on previously. He was missing something big there. He could feel it...

In the following hours, the DI was so busy that he never even noticed when the mysterious police report of the frozen cat slid off of the unkempt pile of cases, where upon it fluttered and glided its way under his filing cabinet, never to be found again.

**~oOo~oOo~**

Well, not for another twelve years, when the branch - deemed excessive and unnecessary - was shut down. Only then would that used-to-be forensic intern have to clean out an old, dusty office. Only then would he have to push and pull that ancient filing cabinet away from its home. And only then would the newly appointed and recently re-assigned DI Smithson find the exact police report that started his long journey.

Through the past twelve years, he had often wondered what had happened to The Mysterious Case of the Frozen Cat. Only now did he realize that it had been lost and forgotten about.

There was nothing he could do with it now. It was a cold case, as cold as cold could possibly be. Besides, the branch was closed now –- even if he could find any new evidence, no-one would take his findings seriously anymore.

But the DI couldn't help but let out a bittersweet sort of smile at the memory. After all, it was his very first investigation at the once infamous and once astonishingly busy Cat CSI.

**~oOo~oOo~**

_**FIN**_


End file.
